Shirt



July 18, 1939.

J. DAVID SHIRT Filed June 8, 1957 mw m m m Wm WM M Patented July 18, 1939 SHIRT John David, New York, N. Y.; Vera B. David, George Frankenthaler, Irving Trust Company, and Robert D. Abrahams, executors of said iIJOhn David, deceased, assignors to Vera B.

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Application June 8, 1937, Serial No. 147,015

3 Claims. (0]. 2-116) UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE This invention relates to shirts and has particular reference to shirts of the pullover type.

In application Serial No. 733,953, filed July 6, 1934, there is illustrated and described a shirt of the pullover type, which is characteristic in that no buttons or other fastening means are required, the integral collar being held closed by the necktie. Among the advantages of such a shirt are that it may be rapidly donned and removed, having no buttons to fasten and unfasten, and will not be readily damaged by laundering and use, which renders the shirt particularly useful for sport wear.

In accordance with the present invention, a pullover shirt of the no-button type disclosed in said application is provided, which is so constructed and arranged that the collar is urged toward closed position without the necessity of starch or other stiffening means for holding the collar in closed form, and without requiring the use of a necktie for that purpose, except when the fully closed position of the collar is desired.

The preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a shirt whose body may be constructed in the conventional way except that the slit in the front extends downwardly from the collar to approximately the middle of the chest of the wearer, providing with the neck aperture an opening of sufiicient size to accommodate the head of the wearer in donning and removing the shirt. The rear half of the neck band of the attached collar is horizontal and the front half thereof is inclined downwardly from the sides of the neck of the wearer to the front at a relatively sharp angle, and this structure causes the unattached front ends of the collar band to automatically tend to fall toward closed position without fastening means. The two sides of the front slit are preferably, but not necessarily, reinforced slightly in order to aid the self-closing tendency of the collar band and to cause the shirt front to lie flat and smooth.

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a front view of a shirt embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a development of the collar thereof illustrating the construction and arrangement of the neck band thereof;

Fig. 3 is a cross-section, as seen along the line 33 of Fig. 1, illustrating the construction of the slit front; and

Fig. 4 illustrates the manner in which the collar may be folded back from the throat.

Referring to the drawing, numeral [0 designates the body of the shirt, which is of woven or knitted fabric and may be constructed in the conventional way. The body I0 is provided with sleeves ll, either short, as shown, or longer, but preferably without cuffs or with buttonless cuffs.

The slit I2 in the front or bosom of the shirt body I!) is relatively short, extending down to approximately the middle of the chest of the wearer, although its length is determined principally by a size of opening formed jointly by it and the neck aperture l3, which is only large enough to comfortably accommodate the head of the wearer in donning and removingthe shirt. For example, alength of approximately 7 inches for slit l2 has been foundsatisfactory.

The side edges l4 and I5 forming the front slit I2 are connected at their upper ends to the respective overlapping tabs l6 and ll of the collar band 18 and are stitched together at their lower ends 19 with a. relatively wide overlap, tending to hold them in overlapped position.

As is illustrated in Fig. 3, the side edges l4 and I5 of the front slit l2 are preferably, but not necessarily, reinforced, so that they are stiffened to a certain extent. This structure causes the side edges l4 and I5 to tend to assume and hold their normal overlapped position and also serves to hold the bosom or front of the shirt smooth and flat.

The neck band [B is shaped as illustrated in the development of Fig. 2, and includes the aforementioned overlapping tabs IB and H, which are well-rounded and merge at their front edges with the corresponding side edges l4 and I5 of the bosom slit l2 and at their upper edges with the inclined edges 20 and 2| of the front half of the collar band l8, the rear half 22 of which, between lines AA, is relatively straight, as shown. The inclination of 20, 2| from the horizontal should not be materially less than 8-10". A collar 23 of any desirable shape is stitched to the band as shown.

The lines 2|], 2| and 22 need not be straight and their juncture angles on the lines AA are not sharp, but the front parts of the collar band must be inclined downwardly from the sides of the neck of the wearer to obtain the self-closing tendency of the collar according to the present invention. Thus, the usual curved fold line of collars, provided in order that the overlapped collar and neck band will conform to the curvature of the neck, will not suffice; the front half of the collar must be curved or otherwise inclined more sharply downward.

In use the special shape of the neck band 18 tends to hold the collar 23 in closed position about the neck of the wearer, the downward pitch of the front 20, 2| thereof causing it to hug the neck. This tendency is aided to a certain extent by the overlap and stiffness of the front side edges l4 and I5 of the bosom slit [2. Obviously, the collar is not urged to and held in completely closed position without aid, and a necktie is used for that purpose.

This self-closing tendency of the collar enables the shirt to be worn with comfort in unfastened condition, 1. e., without buttons, necktie, or other fastening means, even during violent exercise, without the creeping down the back of the wearer, the characteristic tendency of open neck shirts under such circumstances. If it is desired to wear the shirt wide open at the neck the collar and front may be folded back as shown in Fig. 4, the collar breaking at the lines A-A because of the shape of the neck band. Thus when once folded back as shown, the collar will remain in that position. Other advantages accruing to a I shirt of the present construction are apparent.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described herein, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereby, but is susceptible of changes in form and detail within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a shirt having a front opening, the combination of an attached neck-band therefor having upper and lower edges, each edge having a relatively horizontal center portion and end portions inclined downwardly at an angle to said center portion, from the sides of the neck of the wearer to the front opening, whereby the neckband tends to embrace the neck of the wearer to urge the front opening toward closed position without requiring fastening means for that purpose.

2. In a shirt having a front opening, the combination of reinforcing means on the opposite edges of the front opening, said edges being normally overlapped and free of fastening means, a neck-band for the shirt having its center portion relatively straight along the upper and lower edge and the upper edges of its end portions inclined downwardly at an angle to said straight center portion edge from approximately the sides of the neck of the wearer, and a collar or the neck band, the said downward inclination of said neck band ends tending to urge the collar toward closed position.

3. In a shirt providing a front opening, the combination of a neck-band therefor having a relatively horizontal center portion of a length to extend substantially around the back to the sides of the neck of the wearer, end portions on said neck-band having upper and lower edges extend- 1 ing downwardly at an angle to said center portion from substantially the sides of the neck of the wearer to the front opening of the shirt, and overlapping tabs on the extremities of said neckband end portions merging with the correspond- P ing sides of said front opening, the said downward inclination of said neck-band ends tending to urge and hold said tabs in said overlapped condition.

JOHN DAVID. 

